The UK and France have today announced a landmark partnership to strengthen the resilience of critical national infrastructure, including energy, transport and emergency services, through advanced navigation and timing systems capable of withstanding modern threats such as cyber disruption and signal jamming.
As part of a wide-ranging UK-France science and technology collaboration unveiled during President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to London, researchers from both countries will work together to develop alternatives and enhancements to satellite-based systems like GPS – which have become vulnerable targets in the wake of signal interference tactics used in the war in Ukraine.
The partnership will support the development of highly resilient Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) systems, including the UK’s e-LORAN project, which uses ground-based radio towers to provide a secure backup to GPS. The system is less susceptible to jamming and spoofing, offering an extra layer of protection for vital national services.
Speaking alongside President Macron during a visit to Imperial College London, UK Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said the agreement marked a “new era” of scientific cooperation between the two nations.
“France and the UK both have huge ambitions for technology to boost economic growth and strengthen national security. As the threats from hostile state actors grow, it is vital we work with natural partners like our French neighbours,” said Kyle.
“Today we build on the Entente Cordiale with an ‘Entente Technologique’, so that together we can face down the challenges of tomorrow.”
The announcement also includes a major new UK-France supercomputing partnership, with the Bristol Centre for Supercomputing and France’s GENCI AI Factory working together to advance AI research and accelerate breakthroughs in healthcare, clean energy, and public services. The move builds on the UK government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan.
The UK’s AI Safety Institute and France’s INESIA will also deepen their collaboration on frontier AI safety, including technical workshops on secure development and deployment.
Three new institutional research collaborations were signed during the visit, including agreements between:
• Imperial College London and France’s CNRS Ayrton Blériot Engineering Lab (ABEL)
• University College London and Inria, France’s national digital research institute
• Oxford-Cambridge and top French institutions including HEC Paris, Université Paris-Saclay, and Institut Polytechnique de Paris
The strategic tech and science partnership has already sparked millions of pounds in investment and trade deals between the two countries:
• Synthesia, the UK-based AI video platform, is partnering with French retail giant Decathlon to launch an AI avatar lab, building on work with over half of France’s CAC40 firms.
• ElevenLabs is teaming up with M6 and TV5Monde on AI-powered multilingual voice capabilities.
• Darktrace has secured a major contract with French events operator GL Events.
• BT, which supports over 80 French-headquartered companies, confirmed its operations in France totalled £130 million last year and has invested £24 billion domestically this decade.
• Thales plans a £40 million AI-focused R&D programme in the UK via its CortAIx accelerator, creating 200 jobs and reinforcing bilateral defence and AI links.
• Comand AI, a Franco-British defence tech startup, will invest £35 million to establish a UK office, creating 40 highly skilled jobs and strengthening joint capability development.
The emphasis on navigation system resilience follows growing concerns over attacks on critical infrastructure, with the war in Ukraine demonstrating how even small-scale jamming devices can disable satellite signals. The move signals a proactive shift by both governments to secure essential services and protect the digital backbones of their economies.
“The technology that underpins daily life – from transport to energy and banking – must be protected from emerging threats,” said Kyle.
“By investing in secure navigation systems and collaborating on cutting-edge science, the UK and France are creating a stronger, safer future.”
Tomorrow, UK AI Minister Feryal Clark and her French counterpart Clara Chappaz will continue the momentum with a visit to Diamond Light Source in Oxford, one of the world’s most advanced scientific facilities. There, researchers are using intense light beams to study virus structures and pioneer new medicines, underlining how the UK-France science alliance is already shaping breakthroughs with global impact.
